Historic Mon River Buffs collection donated to Monessen historical society
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
The steamer Ranger operated by Pittsburgh Coal Co.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
A model of a keelboat rests below an old image of a steamboat in the storage area at Greater Monessen Historical Society.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
A section of a 1906 photo of an Ohio River scene in Memphis, Tenn.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
A diving suit once used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is among the more unusual items in the River Buffs collection.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
In this file photo from July 2018, George Orlando Morgan IV, a descendant of one of the founders of Monessen, and his wife, Martine, are shown with an old ship wheel belonging to Greater Monessen Historical Society.
Over four decades a dedicated band of volunteers assembled what is believed to be the most extensive collection of artifacts relating to the history of travel on the region’s rivers.
The Monongahela River Buffs Association had a giant riverboat pilot wheel and an old U.S. Army Corps of Engineers diving suit among its collection before the group ran out of steam about five years ago.
“We just ran out of bodies to keep the place open,” said John K. Folmar, who was among the last members of the River Buffs.
The decision was made to relocate its massive collection by 2016 to the Greater Monessen Historical Society, which had the room to store the items.
“We were thrilled to have that stuff,” said society President Daniel Zyglowicz.
An ornate wooden pilot’s wheel standing about 12-feet tall and salvaged from the steamer William Whigham is among the more impressive things in the collection. The boat was built at Elizabeth Marine Works, completed in 1919 in Coal Valley and named after the owner of the shipping company.
“That was one of our gems,” Folmar said.
The collection also includes a seemingly endless assortment of photographs and many models of various boats.
Most of the collection is stored in an area that is not open to the public above the historical society’s museum at 505 Donner Ave.
The society plans to update its website later this year to include a section on the River Buffs, as well as obtain software that will allow the items to be uploaded and seen worldwide, Zyglowicz said.
“We were honored when we were asked to take the collection, as it is an important part of the history of the Mon Valley,” he said.
The society rotates some of the collection for display in its museum, and has loaned things from it to California University of Pennsylvania for an exhibit on historical societies.
Items also were loaned for display last summer at Monongahela’s 250th anniversary celebration.
There also will be a permanent display about the River Buffs in the historical society’s annex building once it is completed.
“We’ve been circulating stuff so people can see it,” Zyglowicz said.
The River Buffs formed in 1977 in Greensboro with “lofty functions,” Folmar wrote in his 2018 book, “Voice of the Mon: the Newsletter of the Monongahela River Buffs Association.”
Among the group’s goals were to preserve the history of river pioneers, create a museum, fight pollution and promote excursions on the Mon.
“Our hopes were high, but our resources were low,” wrote Folmar, a retired Cal U. history professor.
The museum relocated to the former Odd Fellows building at Second and West Main streets in Monongahela after its Greensboro site in an old hotel was declared a public nuisance in 1984.